Lifting pallets

[Michael Aos]

2016 Kubota BX2370.

I've noticed I don't have much lift capacity with the BXpanded Quick-On pallet forks. They are really awesome otherwise.

Would I gain any lift capacity moving to a set of 3pt hitch pallet forks? Or maybe some pallet forks INSTEAD of having the bucket attached?

I don't need huge capacity. Just want to shuffle around a few pallets of pavers.
--

 

[tomplum]

I found out in a hurry that positioning of what you are lifting makes a difference. The further away from the loader pins the weight goes, the less you lift. To be doing what you want to do, you will need to be doing some restacking on to an empty pallet , close to the rack or into the the bucket.

 

[Michael Aos]

Yeah, I've been toying with the idea of building my own custom pallets with that in mind.

 

[Wagtail]

TractorData.com Kubota BX237 tractor attachments information

The farther your load is from the pins/back-of-the-bucket the less lifting capacity you'll have. Pavers weigh a lot.

You're either going to have to redistribute the pavers onto extra pallets, lightening each load, or invest in dedicated FEL forks (or 3PH forks).

Whenever you do use FEL forks, ensure that you have a counterweight of some sort (heavy implement/ballast box) on the 3PH, keep the pallet load low to the ground and your speed slow.

If you have to traverse a slope/incline, keep the load 'uphill'.

 

[Michael Aos]

Looking at the specs, I'm not sure which -- front or back -- would have higher capacity with pallet forks?

FEL lift capacity:
500mm fwd, max height - 518lbs
Lift capacity, pivot pin, max height - 745lbs

3pt lift capacity:
24" behind pin - 680lbs

 

[Michael Aos]

If I could gain "significant" capacity -- and it's not too much of a pain -- I'm considering either quick-swap the bucket for pallet forks, or buying a set for the 3pt hitch.

TractorData.com Kubota BX237 tractor attachments information

The farther your load is from the pins/back-of-the-bucket the less lifting capacity you'll have. Pavers weigh a lot.

You're either going to have to redistribute the pavers onto extra pallets, lightening each load, or invest in dedicated FEL forks (or 3PH forks).

Whenever you do use FEL forks, ensure that you have a counterweight of some sort (heavy implement/ballast box) on the 3PH, keep the pallet load low to the ground and your speed slow.

If you have to traverse a slope/incline, keep the load 'uphill'.

 

[teg]

...quick-swap the bucket for pallet forks...

Would be the best for you. You can see through the frame of the front forks, too. Another thing you could do is to check to see what your pressure is set at for your hydraulics. The company / dealers set it to the low side to protect the pump.

 

[Texasmark]

If I could gain "significant" capacity -- and it's not too much of a pain -- I'm considering either quick-swap the bucket for pallet forks, or buying a set for the 3pt hitch.

3 pt is the way to go with what you have posted, hands down. Right off the bat the lift rating of the 3 pt is half again what the loader rating is or so plus you have the load on the rears so it improves traction on the main drive tires. Disadvantages are that it is behind you and not in front and the lifting range is limited.

 

[dragoneggs]

3 pt is the way to go with what you have posted, hands down. Right off the bat the lift rating of the 3 pt is half again what the loader rating is or so plus you have the load on the rears so it improves traction on the main drive tires. Disadvantages are that it is behind you and not in front and the lifting range is limited.

Really? I didn't realize the 3pt had a higher lift capacity. That said, I think forks on the back would drive me crazy. When I ever get around to it, and I should have when I bought my BX, will be to get a QA and forks for the front. I like to see what I am doing and I want to be able to load/unload my pickup truck. The 3pt solution seems very limiting except for load capacity IMO.

 

[Xfaxman]

Will this style that fit front and rear, fit your BX? DUAL PURPOSE FORKS

Or make your own: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/286916-combination-ssqa-pallet-fork-qh.html

 

[4570Man]

You'll do a lot better with real forks than clamp on forks. Distance from the pins makes a big difference. My tractor will just barley lift a 1200 pound evenly distributed pallet to full height. I've done over 2000 pounds in a better distributed pallet. It wasn't to full height either and that makes a difference.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

3pt forks are good for moving pallets ext a few feet off the ground to another location and setting it down. Normally the 3pt has a much heavier lift capacity than the FEL. That being said weight close to the pin in critical, the round bale I picked up yesterday with my FEL was a bit over 1000lbs, no more than 1200lbs I would say but the loader wouldn't fully curl it at ground level, I had to pick the bale up 3-4ft before it would fully curl it even know the loader is rated at almost 2k lbs.
.

Also you may lose lift capacity if your bucket and add on forks weigh for example 300lbs, the forks may be 200lbs so not only is the load closer to the pins, the loader has 100lbs less weight to lift. Something else to keep in mind, more you add like SSQA and stuff more weight the loader has to lift.

 

[Texasmark]

Really? I didn't realize the 3pt had a higher lift capacity. That said, I think forks on the back would drive me crazy. When I ever get around to it, and I should have when I bought my BX, will be to get a QA and forks for the front. I like to see what I am doing and I want to be able to load/unload my pickup truck. The 3pt solution seems very limiting except for load capacity IMO.

My 6530 is like 2k FEL and 3.5K 3 pt. Force is PSIG x area of the piston. Using the same pump so it's just the ratio of the piston areas, (½ diameter squared x 3.14 for area). Since the FEL uses 2 pistons then it's half the area required per piston.

 

[4570Man]

My 6530 is like 2k FEL and 3.5K 3 pt. Force is PSIG x area of the piston. Using the same pump so it's just the ratio of the piston areas, (½ diameter squared x 3.14 for area). Since the FEL uses 2 pistons then it's half the area required per piston.

That has very little to do with the discussion at hand.